Your Core is Your Powerhouse

This week I’ve included 8 simple exercises to develop and maintain a strong core. Maintaining a strong core is essential when involved with physical activities regardless of the sport you’re in. A strong core assists with body control, balance, strength, power, and last but not least helps to prevent injury :).

If you already have a training routine then make sure some of the exercises below are included as they focus on strengthening your core. If you don’t have a workout regime, strengthening your core is the best way to start as its the key to overall fitness.

Hollowman

This exercise is an isometric position, requiring no movement, it’s a real burner. Make sure you keep your shoulders down and away from your ears and your lower back glued to the mat.

Plank

This is a popular core exercise used in a lot of daily workouts, and truly touches every part of the body. In fact, if you could only incorporate one core exercise into your workouts, this should be it. Lock your elbows and tighten your abdominals

Bridge

Most people think that a bridge is solely for your glutes, but when performed correctly with your hips tucked under and low abdominals engaged, it’s great for your core as well. Hips high and tighten your butt

Superman

This move really targets the low back. In fact, many people suffer from low back pain because their core (including their low back) is weak. Hold this position with your stomach on the mat. Raising your arms and legs off of the ground.

V-Ups

This move took me a while to “master”. The full V-up is pretty advanced, but you can always do the modified version as you work up to it. Once you get the hang of the V-up, you can even try holding a weighted medicine ball in your hands for those looking for a more advanced workout.

V- Sits

See how long you can do this move without shaking! If extending your legs is too difficult, you can do it with bent knees until you gain the core strength. As with the Hollowman, and all these core exercises for that matter, make sure that your shoulders stay down and away from your ears- no matter how hard it gets!

Plank Knee Crosses

Do these slow! Exhale and blow all the air out of your lungs as you pull that knee towards the opposite elbow. Aim for the outside of the elbow, and get it as close as possible.

Leg Raises

This move should not hurt your low back, so make sure you are listening to your body’s signals. If it does, place your hands underneath your low back for support and/or don’t drop your legs down too low.

Elbow Twists

This move really wrings your abs out! Really think about that analogy when performing this move and focus on a slow twist to increase the intensity.

Plank Shoulder Taps

This variation of the static plank is to challenge your balance and core control a bit further. When doing the shoulder taps you really want to avoid rocking your hips and body from side to side. The only motion that should be happening is your hand moving to the opposite shoulder.

Try to incorporate a few of these exercises into your training. If you’re a beginner start out with a time limit for the exercises, about 20 seconds and work your way up to 30 seconds for each exercise. Rest for about 10 seconds and move on to the next exercise. Once you feel you’ve mastered them add in repetitions to a maximum of 3 times each. Your core should always be engaged during your workouts since it’s the powerhouse for the majority of activities we participate in.

Are there any other body-part focused workouts you wish to see and improve on? If so, let me know in the comments below. Who knows, it could be a great topic for a future blog.